


Absolute Beginners

by aactionjohnny



Category: The Venture Bros
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Heroes to Villains, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 21:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17108252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aactionjohnny/pseuds/aactionjohnny
Summary: Maybe they were always meant to be bad.





	Absolute Beginners

**Author's Note:**

> This is a commission for a tumblr friend. It made me realize that, since this is the second one I've written, I fucking love believable villain AUs. This is set around the time of "The Doctor Is Sin," except that Rusty does decide to sign Killinger's contract.

**Absolute Beginners**

 

It’s rare that he asks for just him. Quietly, no doubt with a hand shielding his cellphone,  _ come alone. Don’t tell him _ . And Pete hates the way it thrills him like it used to.

“Be right there,” he says, regurgitating agreeability infinitely. Always for this man, he complies. It’s been that way since their youth. He was always weak, despite how enigmatic and unnamable Rusty’s appeal is and was. Why _ this  _ guy? Why the balding, snarky, pill-popping sad sack? He knows he’s even worse than Billy. Billy worships Rusty de jure, outright, holds him up as a monument to childhood.

Pete’s just a lemming.

Despite his shame, he shows up. Wearing a long peacoat and a scarf piled high up to his chin for the chilly weather.

“Get in here,” Rusty bids, grabbing him by the arm and promptly shutting the door to the lab behind them. “Does anyone know you’ve come?” he asks, struggling with the heavy deadbolt with those scrawny arms.

“No, Rust, what’s goin’ on--” 

“Shh.”

The lights are so dim. Maybe he’s trying to save money. Rusty leads him down the stairs, wringing his hands, looking about as if worried they’re being followed.

“I...have to tell you something. I have to know I can trust you.”

“Of course.”  _ Of course _ , as ever. For as much of an asshole Pete knows he is, there’s one person he’s never fucked over with any cruel or selfish intent. And he stands before him looking so grim and afraid.

“I’m thinking of...switching sides.”

He explains, pacing, running a hand over his bald head like a phantom of a nervous habit. A stranger, cloaked in black and full of mystery, came to visit him and turn his life around. The catch is villainy. The catch is recognizing that no, he’s not a good person and he never will be, so he might as well lean into it.

“Ya _ can’t  _ be serious, Rust.” Pete, ever-starved for affection and unwilling to give it himself, takes a leap to step closer, put his hands on Rusty’s shoulders. “I mean...you’ve always been...one a’ the good guys.”

“Have I?” he asks, and Pete is silent. He gulps and lets his arms fall back to his sides. “Look, White, I…” He folds his arms, eyes fixed on the floor between them. “Part of it just...feels right. Like one final way to disappoint my father.”

They both snort. A half hearted laugh against their mutual discomfort.

“So why’re ya tellin’ me?” Pete asks, hungry for approval, so eager to be pitiful, to make Rusty feel bad.  _ Oh, White, you think I can’t confide in you?  _ But that sweetness never comes.

“Because I want you on board.”

“Heh?”

“Killinger will give me henchmen, money, whatever else I need. But I don’t have a number two.”

“What about Brock?”

“You think army boy will just up and quit the OSI because I asked him to?”

“...no.”

He fights the twitching smile at the side of his lips. Rusty thinks he’s more loyal, or maybe just more easily swayed.

“What, uh…” He scratches the back of his neck. “What about Billy?”

“He’s too good for this.”

Pete’s shoulders fall a little low, his posture worse than ever. Billy _ is  _ too good for this. He’s too good for him. The fact that they can function as a unit is unbelievable. But if Billy’s too good, it means Pete’s just bad enough. He’s the right man for the nefarious job.

“I’ll...think about it.”

“That’s all I expected, White.”

 

.

He doesn’t feel like going home. Doesn’t feel like looking Billy in the eye and trying not to tell him, so he stays at the compound for coffee and cake. Killinger sure does know how to charm…

“Ah,” he says, smiling under that odd little mask. “So zis is the man you vere telling me about. Good, good.” Killinger steps closer to him, leaning forward to peer through his mask and study. “Vat are your skills, Peter?”

“Uh…” He gulps, curling his fingers more tightly around his coffee mug. “I was a computer science major. I can hack…”

“Zen you vill be responsible for all of ze technological endeavors. Together ze two of you vill be at ze forefront of Guild scientific advancement.”

“Well, h-hey now fella, I haven’t agreed to anything just yet…”

“Of course. Take your time. I leave you for now.”

He’s gone like a ghost. Pete’s let his coffee get cold in his hands.

“Creepy guy,” he says, shuffling over to the couch to sit beside Rusty.

“You get used to it…”

“So what would I be like...ya sidekick or somethin’?”

“More like...partners.”

Pete nods as if it’s business-as-usual, as if the very word doesn’t twist a heavy knot in his stomach. 

“...do I get a cool costume?”

“Of course you do.”

Pete eyes the odd suit that Rusty’s wearing and sighs.

“Blue’s not my color.”

Only three things look good on him, maybe. Pink, black, and evil. He’d be lying if he told Rusty that the idea didn’t turn him on a little. Being bad, being malicious. Laughing in that cocky fashion that sends shivers down your enemy’s spine…

What’s keeping him from it? A rocky partnership stuffed into a tin can in the middle of the desert? That’s hardly reason enough to decline, he knows. And he’s bad, he’s  _ bad _ , he’s meant for this. There’s no room for him to be soft. Billy doesn’t need him anyway. He’s made that abundantly clear.

“A’right,” he says, placing the mug on the coffee table. “You’ve got me, Rust.”

He reaches out his hand to shake, like a contract. Rusty takes it in his, but places his other hand atop the pile as well. The only tenderness he’s felt in years.

“Thank you.”

 

.

 

He’s like a thief in the night, coming back to the trailer to grab what little he needs, what little he holds dear. He can’t wake Billy. Not because he’d be grumpy, not because he’s polite, but because he’d have to explain. And if he doesn’t have to talk about it, then it doesn’t have to hurt. He can just keep reminding himself of the upside. Glory, infamy, and a chance to be useful.

Out of kindness, perhaps guilt, he leaves the Nintendo Wii. 

When he gets back to the compound, Rusty calls for him to come to the security monitoring room. That’ll be his office. Dozens of screens and a wide desk in the dark. Gentle on his skin, gentle on his anxieties. 

“It’s dusty in here for now but I can have one of the guys clean it up,” Rusty tells him, pulling out the brand-new office chair for him to try out. Giddy, Pete sits in it, spinning around to get the feel, adjusting the height and recline. 

“Real nice, Rust.”

And they’re both grinning, and they’ve got a hint of mischief in their eyes. Biting his lip, furrowing his brow, Rusty leans forward, hands on the back of Pete’s chair, face-to-face as if ready to challenge him.

But it’s almost like old times. On instinct, as he used to do so many times when they were young, he settles his hands on Rusty’s waist as he hovers over him.

“Heh.. _.this _ why ya asked me to help?” he teases. How _ easily  _ they fall back into the old, vaguely loving routine.

“Hm...just an occupational perk.”

To the sound of the white noise, the static on the monitors, they kiss. Nervous, like it’s brand-new, but comfortable in the familiarity. They don’t discuss it. But this is how it is. Two bad men being bad together, doing bad things but making good love. It’s easier than Pete’s willing to admit, but any doubt or guilt won’t stop him from falling in head-first into this abyss.

 

.

 

“Do we get cool names?” Pete asks, the next morning, unpacking his things in the basement bedroom. 

“I was thinking we’d just use our real ones.”

“ _ Dr. Venture and Mr. White. _ ...kinda sounds like Jekyll and Hyde…”

“Which one of us is the murderous psychopath?”

“Remains to be seen…” Pete muses, absently staring at the empty wall. He made sure to grab his record collection from the trailer. It’ll make a nice decoration… 

It feels, in a way, just like college. Moving into a small room with minimal belongings in tow, talking to Rusty, trying so hard to dull the anxiety of something new, something scary. At least this time he’s got a better grasp on himself. At least this time he’s pretty, wise, aware of all the terrible things of which he is capable. 

“Do we have a nemesis yet?” he asks, stretching his arms and cracking his neck. That’s one thing that’s different, these days: they certainly aren’t as young as they used to be.

“Waiting on assignment,” Rusty tells him, nodding to lead him out of the basement room and back into the lab. “Ha, The Monarch must be furious.”

“Can you imagine? He’s probably had a stroke.”

“I’ll be honest, there are plenty of those _ ‘good guys’ _ I’d have no problem arching.”

“Tell me about it. Buncha goody-two-shoes.”

They smile as they make their way to the drafting table, awash with blueprints and empty coffee mugs. But now, they have henchmen to take care of all that mess.

“What about your boys, Rust? How do they feel about all this?”

“I uh...might not have told them yet.”

“ _ Jesus _ , Rust--”

“Don’t get all moral on me, mister! You’re the best liar I’ve ever met.”

And in this dark lab, in this dapper suit and leather shoes, it doesn’t hurt to hear it. It just feels right. Secrecy and villainy come naturally to him, like air in the lungs. He can’t stop fucking smiling...is this why the bad guys always look so smug? Is this why they always talk slow and seductive? He hopes it won’t wear off in time. He hopes that, should they become successful, he’ll still catch a glimpse of the two of them in some shiny surface and feel his heart pound at how _ fucking cool  _ they look. 

His cell phone vibrates in his pocket. He won’t look, even though he knows who it is. 

“I’m thinkin…” he begins, eager to ignore the call. “We could repurpose the M.U.T.H.E.R. system, ya know? It’s interfaced with everything in the compound, it’d be a waste to just scrap all that’s left of it. N’ maybe we could...change the face.”

“To a skull!”

“Yeah! And the voice could be all...Space Odyssey or somethin’!”

“Exactly. Brilliant idea, my pale accomplice!” Rusty lands a hand heavily between Pete’s shoulder blades. They both hum a devious laugh. Their menace is subtle, refined. The type of villain that destroys you starting with your spirit before they even begin to spill your blood. 

“When do we start?” Pete asks, sliding an arm around Rusty’s waist as they stare up at all they have to work with. Shining machinery and a world of promise.

“I...have a feeling it started when we met, White.” As always in his tender moments, he won’t make eye contact. Like he’ll combust if he’s forced to look into Pete’s eyes more than once a day. “It was always supposed to be this way. My father...made me a bad man.”

Pete frowns, turning his face to study Rusty. He looks so deflated.

“Hey now, Rust…” He manages a smile. “Don’t give him  _ all  _ the credit.”

That, at least, earns him a fond glance. Before, when they tried to be good, it felt easier to be cruel to one another. An outlet for that badness in their souls. But now they can pour it into something devastating and magnificent.

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of want to continue this into something much larger in scope and maybe get Billy involved........
> 
> Anyway 
> 
> It's always fun to try and write "good" characters becoming "evil," as so often i think it happens on accident
> 
> i literally wrote a OPM fic where they just....didnt realize they were villains and then kind of rolled with it lmao


End file.
